Bourne Free Pride Festival is back for 2025! 

The festival has 2 days jammed with entertainment and education. On top of that, there is stalls, caterers, information tents and bars!

The date for your diary is 11 and 12 July 2025.

Bourne Free Parade

• Start Time: 11am on Saturday, 12th July 2025 at the East Cliff Lift

• Duration: Approximately 1 hour

• What to Bring: Water is recommended, as there are no stops along the route and the weather is usually warm.

Why did Bourne Free start?

Bourne Free was originally set up in 2004 when a far right organisation was due to come to Bournemouth and preach that homosexuality was wrong. Many prominent figures and active members of the gay communities in the area came together to organise an event in the Lower Gardens to protect the gay communities from the bigots and keep them together for a day of celebration, rather than of hostility.

The event included entertainers performing at The Bandstand to support diversity, a balloon release with a 2 minute silence for victims of hate crime and Bournemouth’s first Gay Pride march. By the end of the day those that had come together just a few weeks before the preachers came to Bournemouth, the Bourne Free Committee, felt that they could have done even more if they had more time.

It was decided that the committee would get back together and repeat the event every year, but as an official charity with designated roles. Bourne Free would become an annual celebration in the heart of Bournemouth for everyone to see the diversities in the community and to enjoy a variety of entertainment. In 2006, the title of the event was changed to the Bourne Free Pride Festival.

Who is Bourne Free?
The Bourne Free committee consists trustees and volunteers plus a large number of contributors from the LGBT community across Bournemouth and Dorset. Bourne Free is a registered charity and has no paid staff.

News

For the latest Bourne Free information see the news section here.